Best Super Bowl Ad Ever

As a Cowboys fan I hate three teams, the Redskins, the 49ers and the Steelers. I would go into my reasons but if you think back to some moments that broke the hearts of Cowboy fans like myself, I’m sure you can figure it out. Anyway, the Steelers are in the Super Bowl this weekend and I cannot root for them. However, one of the most memorable commercials I’ve ever seen and my favorite Super Bowl commercial featured a Pittsburgh Steeler, ‘Mean’ Joe Greene. It was first played in 1979 and was part of the Have A Coke And A Smile campaign.

In the ad, Mean Joe is limping down the tunnel to the locker room. This kid spots the Steelers’ defensive tackle and says “Mr. Greene, Mr. Greene…” Joe turns around and acknowledges the kid by sayin’ “Yeah”. The kids goes on to say “I just want you to know that… I… I think you’re the best ever” Mean Joe nicely replies to the kid with a “Yeah sure” The kid then raises him bottle of soda and says to Joe “Want my Coke?” Joe looks at him like he’s crazy and waves him off. The kid then asserts again “Really, you can have it” Joe finally says “Okay… thanks” and gulps down that Coke like a man deprived of liquids for months in the desert. As Joe is chugging down the Coke, the kid breathes a deep sigh of frustration says “See you around” and begins to walk the opposite way up the tunnel. In a surprising move, Mean Joe hollers “Hey kid” and tosses the kid his sweat and dirt filled game jersey. The kid gets this huge smile, grabs the jersey from the air and yells “Thanks Mean Joe!!!” The Have A Coke And A Smile words come up in the screen and you see a huge smile from Mean Joe Greene. I was 7 years old when this commercial first aired and I’ll never forget it. I wanted to be that kid, but I wanted the player to be Tony Dorsett and not Mean Joe… lol.